Under Daumier’s vigorous and immediate draftsmanship lies a respect for traditional academic values. Contour and line are paramount, and an understanding of anatomy is obvious in the accomplished foreshortening of this peasant woman’s torso and forearms. Through an economy of means, with no modeling or hatching at all, Daumier suggests both form and weight. Despite the figure’s rough appearance, Daumier invests her with a grace and dignity rivaling the history painters of his generation.

from Snay, The Epic and the Intimate: French Drawings from the John D. Reilly Collection (Notre Dame, 2011)